Hand Tools

[LinuxRandal]

I worked as a professional mechanic for quite a few years prior to going back to college and, well.. anyway, I digress. Needless to say, I needed top quality tools as my bread and butter earners, (versus tools for a hobby...)

My mechanics tool chest is full of Craftsman, Snap On, Mac, Matco, and Proto (Stanley professional line). I HATE the Stanley stuff. Love the Snap On stuff. Craftsman sockets, extensions and stuff work great, but I despise their ratchets.

The Craftsman fully polished combination wrench sets versus the old rough cast ones have much finer machining to them, and a dramatically better feel in the hand for all day work.

I have never liked Craftsman screwdrivers due to their lousy handles. This is one area where Stanley has done well by me.

Snap On is really not meant for the hobbyist. Their tools are fantastic, their distribution and service are meant for working professional mechanics, and it is hard for a hobbyist to get service / replacements. I for example have had the same 14mm deep well socket that split for 8 years as I have not been able to pin down a Snap on truck / dealer...

The asian imports, just like the woodworking tools, have come an enormous way quality wise since the 1980s, and I have seen a couple of professional mechanics actually using the Pittsburg branded combination wrench sets from Harbor Freight. I am not sure I would have, but they seem to work fine for these guys.

If I had it to do over again, I probably would have gone with the Craftsman fully polished sets. Snap On like I said is great stuff, just hard to get replaced on warranty if you do have a problem.

First, You can call, Snap-on and request warranty service. They send you a box, which you place the broken stuff and an inventory sheet (very important in case of damage to the box) and send it to them, then they send you the replacement stuff back. It didn't cost me postage either way, when I did that (we hadn't had a dealer for a few years).

That's still the case today. About 90% of my mechanic's tools are Craftsman, with the remainder being a mix of other good brands like Snap-On, SK, etc. I don't use them as much as a full-time pro would but I do use them quite a lot, and I've never found Craftsman to be lacking in any way.

The only real caveat with Craftsman is to never pay full price. If what you need isn't on sale this week, it probably will be next week, or the week after that.

Those guys were hard on tools.. They managed to snap the head off a 1/2" mac breaker bar.. How? trying to loosen a 1" suspension bolt on a GMC bus by putting a floor jack under the handle.. (the 3/4" gun wasn't getting the job done)

My Personal set is 90% craftsman and 10% specialty stuff I picked up as needed. S/K, Snap-on, Williams.

It's hard to bet the deal on a large Craftsman set when they are on sale..
I used to have a low end Craftsman rolling tool chest but I killed it.. Something it didn't like about having 400+ pounds of tools in it. Now I have the Harbor Freight 44" 13 drawer Roll cab..
The thing is 400lbs empty! mine is kicking around 1000lb loaded and it's holding up great.

The above shows the opposite of what you should do. If you get resistance using a size, you switch to the next drive size UP, not down. LOL (of course you do what you need to, when you have to get the job done).

I turned wrenches for a few years. I have SK (from various time periods), Craftsman, Snap-on, Proto, Armstrong, Williams, Wright, (I could go on for quite a while)....

You just asked about wrenches, so I will start with that. WHAT are you going to use them for? (this also leads to the metric/SAE question) How often? How soon do you need them? If all your doing is changing lawn mower blades, and assembling tools/stands/etc. I would recommend garage and estate sale searching for what feels good to you and is no more (or around) what the generic Craftsman (standard finish) wrenches go on sale for. If you need metric, (less apt to find them via estate sales) and your not using them much, again, the general Craftsman wrenches.
If your going to be doing quite a bit more, I PREFER the fully polished ones.

Now an old timer (actually a couple) recommended to me, years back, that I go with a set of open end wrenches, and a set of box end wrenches instead. That way, if I have to assemble something, (same size) I can hold one end with an open end, and turn the other with the box wrench. This was inexpensive in the olden days, when all the stuff was SAE. Now, when I mechanic'd that was expensive (via my wrench choices). I used Snap-on open end/flare nut wrenches in one roll, and Armstrong box end/Gearbox end in another roll. ($$$$$$$$)

For general hand use sockets, I use Craftsman (have other brands as well). The standard ratchets that you get from Sears, are loaners. I have (from Sears) the Round head fine tooth, with the speeder (internet only), and the Fine tooth, low profile/professional series (1/2" is heavy). Then I have Specialty ratchets of various brands (I have many more ratchets, but this is how I would start).

Impact sockets, I and at least one dealership I know of, use the Pittsburgh impact sockets, just prefer to find the ones marked Chromemoly, instead of Chrome vanadium. I have others as well (mostly specialty), but find the HF are the home use ones (probably not going to be buying commercial impact guns).

I could go quite a bit on, but if you want more automotive type tool knowledge, and either have self control, or a good budget and a loose checkbook, google garage journal.

Sears does have good sales (as stated above), and don't forget about the Craftsman club.
As for most of the Pittsburg stuff, I have seen mixed luck. I am VERY picky about what I will buy from HF. (seen a HUGE quality difference in some wrenches before) But yes (if you NEED the space) their large toolbox is good for the homeowner (just wrenches and no wandering kids, I would hang them though).

[headhunter636]

Mostly Craftsman here as well. My screwdriver set has probably been replaced 4 or 5 times since they were bought around '75. Now I tend to pick up odd sizes of wrencehes or sockets I need at one of the parts houses or box stores. Most of them carry the same lifetime warranty as Craftsman.

I used a 1/2 ratchet as a hammer in a pinch, just to knock something loose. After that, it no longer ratcheted. So I took it into Sears and told the guy behind the counter, I used it as a hammer and it broke. He didn't care how it was broken, so he went and replaced it.

I took a couple of screw drivers, 3/8 inch ratchet and 1/2 inch ratchet in the other day and had them replaced. I have had the same set of Craftsman since I first joined the Army in 1990. I do like the feel of the few Snap On tools that I have, but I think Craftsman suit me fine.

[LCHIEN]

Mostly Craftsman here as well. My screwdriver set has probably been replaced 4 or 5 times since they were bought around '75. Now I tend to pick up odd sizes of wrencehes or sockets I need at one of the parts houses or box stores. Most of them carry the same lifetime warranty as Craftsman.

Well, its true that HD and Lowes offer tools with lifetime waranties (presumably to compete with Craftsman). But, Lowes and HD are newcomers replacing Builders Square and Handy Dan and who recalls what before them.

Whereas Sears is still around. I know that Sears may not always be around, but I trust them and Craftsman tools to be more likely than Husky or Kobalt to be around in the future.

[jabe]

I have a set of Cman and mixture of other brands that I picked up throught the years. Broke my Cman ratchets several times and cracked some of the sockets, damaged some of their screwdrivers, had them replaced several times with no problems. I carry a set of Metrinch in my truck, most bang for the buck, can use for std. or metric in one set. It's my go to set, good quality, haven't broken any sockets or wrenches yet. Funny I don't see it advertised anymore, I'd buy another set just to keep in the shop. Another set I like are the gear wrenches that I bought from Ace Hdwre store.

[LarryG]

Actually the Pittsburgh line from HF looks and feels pretty good, for home use they might work pretty well for inexpensive tools, or for a second set to keep in the trunk of the car or next to the saw, or to loan out, for example.

Some of the HF Pittsburgh hand tools bear a striking resemblance to the Companion homeowner brand that Sears now sells alongside their Craftsman line. By "striking resemblance" I mean that if there's a difference other than the name, I don't see it.

I can be as big a tool snob as anybody, but I've filled some of the gaps in my Craftsman set with HF Pittsburgh pieces. Example: a year or two back I needed an ~18" breaker bar. The Craftsman bar was about $25 (an open stock item that rarely goes on sale). The Pittsburgh was less than $10 and as I recall I caught it on sale and paid even less. For something as simple as a breaker bar, I figured it would be hard to go wrong.

[billwmeyer]

Sorry Bill but I had to laugh when I read your original post. I come from a very small family and the only time I've seen someone break a tool was when my father got mad and started swinging a hammer wildly. Don't remember what got broken but something sure did. I meant my comment as a joke and hope you took it that way. :-)
Richard

Richard,

Yes I took it as a joke. I have trouble typing my meaning sometimes.

I used to live for cars and baseball. As I mentioned in another thread, I lost interest in baseball. My back doesn't let me work on cars much either, so as someone who started turning wrenches at 8 or 9 years old, it is strange for me not to look much at mechanic tools anymore. I used to spend hours going over that section of the Sears tool catalog.

Of course I have now have some of that old fever for woodworking tools!

Bill

[sscherin]

The above shows the opposite of what you should do. If you get resistance using a size, you switch to the next drive size UP, not down. LOL (of course you do what you need to, when you have to get the job done).

Now an old timer (actually a couple) recommended to me, years back, that I go with a set of open end wrenches, and a set of box end wrenches instead. That way, if I have to assemble something, (same size) I can hold one end with an open end, and turn the other with the box wrench. This was inexpensive in the olden days, when all the stuff was SAE. Now, when I mechanic'd that was expensive (via my wrench choices). I used Snap-on open end/flare nut wrenches in one roll, and Armstrong box end/Gearbox end in another roll. ($$$$$$$$)

As for breaking the MAC bar.. we didn't have a 3/4" bar in house.. Like you said do what needs to be done to get it out the door. It did manage to get the wheel 3" off the ground.. now that is impressive

I'll 2nd the recommendation on a 2nd set of wrenches..
I prefer to have one set of Open Box and a 2nd set of Offset wrenches.


As for Sockets I prefer to have 6 point sockets.. Standard and deep in 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2" drive. Inch and metric



Things you'll want at some point but may not know it yet

1/4" Drill drivers with socket ends from HF.. $4.. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42191


A rubber mallet.. For when you need to beat something softly.

a 3lb hammer.. Some things just need a little persuasion.

a set of J.I.S. screwdrivers.. Screws in devices from Japan are not the same as US Phillips screws.. Phllips drivers cam out and strip the heads.. These will NOT. get a set and you won't regret it..
http://www.heliproz.com/prodinfo.asp?number=888101

If you get into working on cars or bikes

20" 1/2 drive socket extension..

1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 breaker bars.. for those tight places a ratchet won't fit. It's not always about leverage.

[LinuxRandal]

6 Point verses 12 Point, is a get a popcorn debate in most automotive forums. My mechanic (friend of the families, mom's first grade boyfriend, LOL), told me to get 6 point. That is what I did. I inherited 12 point (as well as some 8 point), and commonly see them at garage/estate sales, so I figure 6 point NEW, with a filler of 12 point new, for any specialty sockets (like Ford driveshafts).